by Robert Bianco, USA TODAY

by Robert Bianco, USA TODAY

CBS' latest crime drama, Golden Boy, was conceived, says CBS president Nina Tassler, as a star vehicle for British actor Theo James - best known here as the Turkish diplomat who died in Lady Mary's bed in Downton Abbey. But it didn't take long for the network to realize the show was really about the relationship between two men: the ambitious young cop played by James and his partner/mentor, played by Chi McBride.

"I think it was something that developed naturally," says James. "There was a sort of synergy between us. It was somewhat art imitating life. I'm a young English punk coming over, and Chi is a veteran. â?¦ That development of it is something I really love, the sort of Luke Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi."

"I have a great deal of affection for Theo," says McBride. "I think he's wildly talented. It's a joy to work with him. And when you have affection for someone, it comes through on screen, if you let it. â?¦ We've done things together, we've bonded together, and that comes through on screen."

Golden Boy is the story of James' Walter Clark, a young cop who - we are told from the start - will eventually become the youngest police commissioner in New York history. It's a return to New York for producer Nick Wootton, who once worked on NYPD Blue, and as with Sipowicz in Blue, he sees this as a story of redemption.

It is, however, a story where we already know the end, which is fine with Wootton, because he feels when you know the end of the story, you're better able to concentrate on the characters. And if it locks the writers into a few plot points, that's fine as well "Everything that we talk about in the pilot takes place in the series."